Markets end steady; metal pack leads

Shares ended steady for a third day in a row, in the absence of lack of triggers, moving in a tight range for most of the day. The Sensex closed the day higher 37 points, while the Nifty closed the day higher by 14.60 points.

The metals pack saw aggressive buying with Sterlite Industries, Hindalco and Sesa Goa all spurting. High beta stocks were in the limelight including real estate, as investors were seen increasingly betting on high beta names while selling defensives. Shares of Ashok Leyland spurted on better than expected sales of vehicles for the month of June.

Shares in Asia ended higher while shares in Europe were trading lower, ahead of the ECB and Bank of England meet. The UK's FTSE, the German DAX and the French CAC were all trading lower.

Domestically, there are very few triggers though the markets have been optimistic that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is handling the finance portfolio will push ahead with the reforms process.